This recipe uses a whole chicken that is jointed into pieces, as it’s most economical and the skin is an important part of building the flavour of the dish. If skin is not your thing, remove it later if you can possibly resist. Choose pasture-raised chicken for the highest quality eating and nutritional value and Australian-grown saffron for a fresher more pungent flavour.
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
2 lrg pinches saffron threads
2 tbsp boiling water
1 lrg pasture-raised chicken
2 tbsp + extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp honey
¼ cup rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
salt flakes & freshly cracked black pepper
1 lemon, the juice of
4 lemon cheeks or wedges, to serve
Method
- Placing the saffron threads in a small heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling water and leave to steep for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200˚C.
- Cut the legs off the chicken and joint in halves, separating the thigh and drumstick. Cut the breasts off the bone and then cut the wing tip off at the first joint.
- Place all the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Toss with the 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, honey, most of the rosemary, turmeric, saffron mixture and seasoning and leave for a minimum of 20 minutes to marinate.
- Gently fry the chicken pieces in a little more olive oil in a stovetop-to-oven pan until a light golden colour.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 20 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over after 10 minutes.
- Pour the lemon juice over the chicken and shake the pan to mix.
- Serve with the sauce, the remaining chopped rosemary and lemon cheeks.
